With so many salons, medspas and clinics advertising permanent hair removal, there’s a lot to look for if you want your money’s worth.

Both IPL machines and lasers are good for hair removal depending on hair type, skin type, growth rate and a variety of other factors. Lasers will most likely require fewer treatments, they are less painful, more suitable for darker and tanned skin, and generally safer than IPLs.

Costs of laser hair removal will vary greatly depending on a location, provider competition and the type of provider. Google “laser hair removal new york” and “laser hair removal maitland” – and you’ll see the point.

What is truly important is to research clinics and machines before getting started. It’s not just about price, it’s about cleanliness and the pain-factor and permanence. Do a consultation, get a patch test, and see if the office is well-educated and can answer your questions. 

Look for a clinic or spa with experienced providers, updated equipment and strong anti-septic practices. Alcohol is not sufficient to kill herpes, hepatitis C or the flu virus. Cleanliness is critical in this industry, especially if they will be working on intimate areas of your body.

Recent ads about home-based laser hair removal has left many consumers wondering about optimal and effective permanent hair removal options.

There are several home-based devices heavily advertised for their obvious advantage: you can use it at home. A couple of thoughts to add to your laser hair removal directory.

For $200 you can get a no!no! – a hair remover used at home that gives about 64 percent reduction in hair growth “over time.” The no!no! device uses a thermacon tip containing “Hot Blades” (which are not really blades) that house thermodynamic wires. While gliding the device over the skin, the thermal transference conducts a gentle pulse of heat to the hair resulting in crystallized hair. 

Zap it — with the Tria Laser, which uses “Diffuse Radiance Technology,” which transforms the Class IV laser diode used in a professional setting into a Class I laser diode. The Tria’s photothermolysis system targets the dark pigment of the hair causing it to gradually fall out or stop growing after six to eight treatments. For $795, you’ll see results in six to eight months.

no! no! and a few other devices that recently popped up in the U.S. market, are not lasers, to start with. These devices with similar promises may give you a 64 percent reduction in hair growth. The key word in the advertising is “over time”, which I interpret as “use it as often as possible for a long period of time”. Lifetime?

Tria is a laser. To get some results, you must have naturally medium brown, dark brown, or black hair and your skin color must be white, ivory, beige or light brown. I have seen so many people qualifying for good laser hair removal results and yet struggling for many months to endure multiple painful treatments with high power Class IV medical lasers to achieve desired 80-85% reduction, that I find it hard to believe in this low power diode. I can rate it a notch above no! no! but not far above waxing.  

The most effective, and therefore appealing of the hair-removal options on the market is professional laser hair removal. Why? Because it is the only one that really works! Do your local search, e.g. “laser hair removal new york”, “laser hair removal ny”, “suffolk laser hair removal”, “laser hair removal DC”, or “laser hair removal NJ”. Get serious! You are doing this for your own self!

Laser hair removal is a very mature market in the U.S. and costs do not vary dramatically for comparable types of facilities.

There are clinics and franchises that specialize exclusively in laser hair removal. Typically these facilities provide a high level of safety, customer satisfaction and long lasting results. However, since the actual procedures are not administered by a doctor, you should check the track record of the specific facility and the technician who will work with you.

There are fly-by-night medspas, which can offer the lowest price and the highest risk. These are typically operated by aestheticians. A medical doctor would sign off their charts without actually seeing the patient. More due diligence is required before you can accept their offer.

Many physician’s offices have started offering laser hair removal as an add-on ancillary service. Treatments are usually done by physicians and carry the lowest level of risk for the patient. The physician’s fees may be on a higher side, but doctors realize the spectrum of risk and appreciate the value of their license, so they can (and they should) command a higher fee.

You can get a good idea of the laser hair removal costs by reviewing the following useful resources:

Interactive map of LHR costs